The Election Commission of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday barred party chairman Imran Khan not to back any candidate, taking part in the intra-party elections, to ensure transparency in its second intra-party elections in next couple of months.
PTI Chief Election Commissioner Tasneem Noorani, a former interior secretary during Pervez Musharraf's regime, stated this while issuing election code of conduct for the upcoming intra-party elections, likely to take place by end-April. The commission entrusted with the gigantic task to hold free and fair elections after former justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, a disgruntled PTI leader who had declared the previous intra-party party elections manipulated, has also banned party leaders not to form any groups and alliances or any other such forum.
Noorani said the objective of new code of conduct was to promote freedom, fairness and effective choice for the workers to use their right to franchise without any pressure to strengthen the party through a genuinely democratic culture. To ensure a level playing field to the candidates to win a party office through free and fair process, he added "it is a must that we should ensure the value of each vote, and not allow anyone to undermine the worth of a vote through use of money and other corrupt practices."
"No person or group is entitled to directly or indirectly subvert the content of such information to form their own vested interests through corrupt, devious or dishonest means," he maintained. In order to maintain a level playing field to all the candidates, he said no campaigner shall employ any means other than door to door canvassing, telephonic solicitation by the candidate, solicitation by electronic mail, use of facebook, whatsapp, and twitter, etc.
"No candidate, representative, agent, campaign worker or supporter shall offer any bribe, inducement or financial reward to voters, make any threat of retaliation of reprisal to voters or other participants in an election, offer any gift meant to induce another to stand or not to stand for election or to vote or not to vote for a candidate, or intimidate or impersonate voters," he added.
He said that violation of election code of conduct would result in disqualification and ineligibility from candidature in party elections as well as award of party ticket in any national and provincial or local election across the country besides termination of basic party membership.